


Sacrifice

by Terrific_Lunacy



Series: First encounters in history [6]
Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Angelica POV, Gen, Historical Inaccuracy, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-01
Updated: 2016-10-01
Packaged: 2018-08-18 22:35:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8178608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Terrific_Lunacy/pseuds/Terrific_Lunacy
Summary: 1780, a winter’s ball. Unbeknownst to him, Alexander Hamilton wins two hearts that evening. Painfully aware, Angelica loses hers forever.   No one deserved her sister, not even Alexander. But Eliza…Eliza deserved everything.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Part 6 of the series but can be read independently.  
> I used the musical timeline, meaning Angelica isn't married in this when she meets Hamliton. So we can have _all the feels._

 

 

Balls had lost their allure for Angelica in the past few years.  Oh she still dazzled everyone in the room. But the joy in it was gone.

She had loved them when she was younger. The excitement of finally being introduced into the adult world. The pleasure of meeting so many new people, the endless desire for skillful conversation.

But for some while now, she had become disenchanted. The reason? She grew older than twenty.

There was nothing to do for a women past that age except for one thing. You were expected to nurture your own family. Angelica wasn’t opposed to starting her own family, it was just that the husband was still missing and not for lack of trying from the male population.

And suddenly the lavish balls thrown by her father became nothing but a parade of new faces that she analyzed and judged for suitability. And with every time she didn’t find what she was looking for, the pressure grew.

Eliza still dreamed of true love and Angelica would be the last person to ever destroy that hope, but for Angelica that notion seemed silly now. Love wasn’t needed in a marriage, but she would be damned before marrying some irritating, uninteresting man for whom she had no respect.

The revolution was happening, the whole world was sizzling with new ideas and Angelica still had not found a husband. It grated on her nerves. Because society now looked at her as someone who was failing the only job she had. And Angelica was _not_ someone who failed.

It would take more than her to change _that_ system. And she truly did want a family. So she would find a suitable husband, accomplishing what she was supposed to do and then see how far she could stretch her constraints.

But with every ball that passed, a small despair grew inside her.

So here she was, 1780, a winter’s ball, another chance.

Charming the over-eager continental soldiers was way too easy. At least the occasion gave her an excuse to dress up with her sisters, dance and hear about the newest stand of the revolution.

She was almost inclined to count the evening as a success, simply for getting to meet George Washington.

One of the soldier-boys was basically tripping over himself to greet her and Angelica hid a sigh.

And then.

Then he looked up at her.

For a moment Angelica stopped breathing, thinking, existing.

His eyes were oozing intelligence, his face marked with a hunger that had nothing to do with food. His scrawny frame was brimming with life. His immense presence hit Angelica like a physical force and only the peach fuzz on his cheeks betrayed his young age.

It was hard to keep her composure over the wild beating of her heart and the frantic jumble of her thoughts, but she managed, if Alexander’s shining eyes and brilliant smile were anything to go by.

This only heightened her excitement. He was not yet taken and obviously interested in her - as were most, but this time it was important to her.

He was flirting quite unabashedly, something which usually annoyed her, but all of his compliments so far had been aimed at her mind, not her appearance. Finally a man who treated her like someone on their level.

His reluctance to talk about his family was a major caveat of course. It was painfully obvious that he was a nobody. And yet, Washington himself hired him for his staff. That had to count as something.

By the time their short conversation was over she was glowing with elation. She couldn’t remember a time where he had felt so alive.

Since she had grasped the concept of marriage she had been scared of being married off. But her father was fond of his daughters and money wasn’t an issue either, so at least they were allowed to choose.

Social standing was important of course, and Angelica had never thought she would settle for anything but up, but right now she didn’t _care_. He was perfect otherwise and maybe the war would gain him a reputation. Angelica could work with that.

“Eliza,” she breathed, barely able to wait to tell her about what happened.

“Angelica!” Eliza exclaimed and Angelica noticed how her sister was practically jumping up and down from excitement. “You have to help me. Oh God, what am I supposed to do?”

Angelica laughed, still feeling warm from her own victory, but wanting to hear what had managed to throw Eliza so completely.

“What is it?”

“Do you see him?”

Eliza pointed not-so-discreetly at a group of young soldiers. Angelica saw Alexander there and she couldn’t help the small smile growing on her face. Was that love? Was it really so easy to fall?

“Alexander Hamilton? I talked to him,” Angelica said, as if the experience hadn’t been life-changing.

“You know him?” Eliza all but squealed. “Do you think… Do you think I can go talk to him? But… Oh no, no. What if he doesn’t like me? What would I even say to him? I knew I should have worn the other dress. He hasn’t looked at me once and I… I don’t have enough courage to introduce myself.”

Angelica’s world staggered to a halt with an unpleasant jerk.

She looked into Eliza’s eyes - her dear, innocent Eliza - and they were helpless.

No one deserved her sister, not even Alexander. But Eliza…Eliza deserved everything.

Why him? Why, for all their differences in their personalities, _why_ did they have to fall for the same man?

For a moment Angelica could see her own future with Alexander as clearly as if it were a memory. But in that future, the giddy hope in Eliza’s eyes was gone. She would not stand for that, ever.

“Don’t you worry,” Angelica said, her voice only slightly unsteady, her smile only slightly strained. “Once he’s standing before you he won’t be able to look anywhere else. Let me handle it.”

Ignoring Eliza’s nervous protests and the burning sensation in her own eyes, she turned towards the soldiers and approached Alexander.

He smiled when he saw her again and Angelica’s heart stuttered. But she took a breath and willed it to be quiet.

She loved her sister more than anything in this life. Anything. Including herself.

“Where are you taking me?”

“I’m about to change your life.”

 _And mine_.

A part of her would regret that decision for the rest of her life, but Angelica was certain of one thing. She could endure everything for Eliza.

Even a life without satisfaction. 


End file.
